Normal

What is normal to you? Day in, day out, running errands, shopping, commuting to work, kid’s activities, paying bills. I used to abhore normal. But now after almost 23 months in my altered state, (Yeah that’s right!) I crave the old normal. This summer has been a busy one, but not your normal summer busy. My day consists of Netflix, my iPad, grandson entertaining, a little sun, watching others have fun. Then I drink a little Dr. Pepper and eat a little somethin. My recliner is the most comfortable, until it’s not. Then get help and transfer to my motorized wheelchair for awhile, til my tailbone hurts. Get help to the bathroom. Then back to the recliner. (Rinse, and repeat.) Three days a week the normal rigmarole is interrupted with a trip for an hour of physical therapy. (Ooo, exercise. So exciting.) I would do more Amazon shopping if I had the money. Taking a life hiatus (via stroke) is not as fun as it sounds. I had to get away from this, even for a little while.

Me and my husband took a trip this last month up the pacific coast on i-1 from San Fran to the top of Oregon for our big 3-0. I planned and booked it all from my iPad. (As much as you can plan!) We imagined getting away would be fun. A road trip seems quite normal until my disabilities became all too apparent. We did behold many awesome sights. Numerous stops along the road required a quick hike down a hill to the beach. Nope. If you can access a beach, try riding on the sand in a wheelchair! Not possible, or quite hard. And most so-called handi-capable bathrooms, well we’ve seen bigger, lets just say that. Every time I wanted to disembark the vehicle to take in a vista, my husband had to retrieve the wheelchair, bring it around, then help me into it. Then take in the sights and do it all again. (Not just your normal hop out and run.) And try taking a picture one handed! Assessible rooms are difficult to find. (I think people get them just for the increased floor space!) Since I require extra supplies, the nightly hotel move-in (when we finally did secure one) was a ginormous task for my hubby. (Sure wish I could’ve helped.) Vacations are hard. Add an air-bed and all my extra stuff to the mix! Every morning he had to get me up, shower me, dress me, feed me, and replace all the stuff (and me) back into the van! (Thanks hun.) I did figure out how to do my own hair and make-up. (Men are useless that way.) More travelogue to come.

As we spent countless miles on the road (usually windy and slow,) I would look at other people with their first-world problems (like the need for gas or food,) seeing them so careless and free, and think, “Do they know how good they’ve got it?” I tried to use this get-a-way to “get away,” but the real facts of my life would always return to haunt me.

Things can change very quickly.

Enjoy your normal. Don’t take it for granted. Even though it seems so… normal. Appreciate it. Bask in it. (Summer joke.)